Friday, September 30, 2016

Fishing in the British American colonies was a social sport, & the outcome was as unpredictable then as it is nowadays. This poem appeared in the 1754 Maryland Gazette about preparing a list of items to take on a picnic & fishing trip on the Severn River in Annapolis.

18C English woodcutSix bottle of wine, right old, good and clear;a dozen at least, of English strong Beer:Six quarts of good Rum, to make Punch and Grogg(the latter a Drink that’s now much vogue)some Cyder, if sweet, would not be amiss:Of Butter Six pounds, we can’t do with less.A tea Kettle, Tea, and all the Tea Geer,To treat the Ladies and also small Beer.Sugar, Lemons, a Strainer, likewise a Spoon;Two China Bowls to drink out of at Noon:A large piece of Cheese, a Table Cloth too,A sauce-pan, two Dishes, and a Corkscrew:Some Plates, Knives and Forks, Fish Kettle or pot,And pipes and Tobacco must not be forgot:A frying pan, Bacon or Lard for to Fry:a tumbler and Glass to use when we’re dryA hatchet, some Matches, a Steel and a Flint,Some touch-wood, or Box with good tinder in’t.some vinegar, Salt, some Parsley and Breador else Loaves of Pone to eat in it’s stead:and for fear of bad Luck at catching of FishSuppose we should carry- A READY DRESSED DISH

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910) Shark FishingDuring the 1880s, Winslow Homer vacationed in Florida, and the Caribbean, where he produced dazzling watercolors of people struggling with the sea & its creatures. Strong men here challenge the ocean's overwheming power; but in the end, the timeless ocean would survive. The strong, clever fishermen would die passing the task on to the next generation.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Henri Lebasque (French artist, 1865-1937) A Fishing Expedition 1920Some of my favorite portraits of women & children outdoors are by Henri Lebasque (French artist, 1865-1937). He was born in Champigné, France; and by 1885, he was studying in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Here Lebasque met Camille Pissarro & Auguste Renoir. Lebasque maintained an intense artistic exchange with young painters, especially Vuillard & Bonnard, the founders of the artists' associations "Les Nabis" (the prophets) & the "Intimists." In 1903, together with his friend Henri Matisse & other artists, Henri Lebasque founded the "Salon d'Automne," where Georges Rouault, André Derain, Edouard Vuillard and Henri Matisse exhibited. In 1924, Henri Lebasque moved to Le Cannet on the French Riviera. His portrayals of women & their children are colorful & intimate, full of the hope & joy of life.

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On March 4, 2011, Emile de Bruijn of the National Trust in the UK, wrote on his blog "Treasure Hunt" of making history & art available to all: "Traditionally art history has been inherently elitist & exclusive, both socially & intellectually. Art tended to be commissioned by the upper classes. Connoisseurship was seen as a superior, refined skill & the products of art-historical scholarship were guarded almost as fiercely as the art itself."

On May 29, 1012, William Noel, now Director of Special Collections Center & Director of Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies. University of Pennsylvania, told The TED Blog, "...digital data is not a threat to real data, it’s just an advertisement that only increases the aura of the original, so there just doesn’t seem to be any point in putting restrictions on the data. There is the further fact that the data is funded by taxpayers’ money. So it didn’t seem fair to limit what taxpayers could do with the data that they paid for."

On February 7, 2017, Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced a new policy: all images of public-domain artworks in the Museum's collection are now available for free & unrestricted use. "We have been working toward the goal of sharing our images with the public for a number of years. Our comprehensive & diverse museum collection spans 5,000 years of world culture & our core mission is to be open & accessible for all who wish to study & enjoy the works of art in our care. Increasing access to the Museum’s collection & scholarship serves the interests & needs of our 21C audiences by offering new resources for creativity, knowledge, & ideas."